Giving an insight into how this inspiring and talented artist works, The Addictive Sketcher passes on Adebanji Alade's infectious enthusiasm and will have the reader reaching for a pencil or pen to have a go. Adebanji has a skill and a passion for speaking and motivating his audience in a fun and engaging way, and this is reflected in his writing style. Lively, stimulating and instructive, it is packed with numerous examples of the author’s sketches as well as examples of his vibrant finished paintings. Covering pencils, coloured pencils, charcoal and graphite, along with finished oil paintings, this book provides a fascinating insight into the author’s techniques. Adebanji’s work covers a broad range of subjects, including landscapes, portraits, crowd scenes, urban scenes and seascapes. He’s particularly well known for his portraits and working outdoors capturing the life of London where he lives. This book includes examples from a range of subject areas.

Make the world your studio! Capture the bustle and beauty of life in your town. Experience life as only an artist can! Join the rapidly growing, international movement of artists united by a passion for drawing on location in the cities, towns and villages where they live and travel. Packed with art and advice from Marc Taro Holmes, artist and co-founder of Urbansketchers.org, this self-directed workshop shows you how to draw inspiration from real life and bring that same excitement into your sketchbook. Inside you'll find everything you need to tackle subjects ranging from still lifes and architecture to people and busy street scenes. • 15 step-by-step demonstrations cover techniques for creating expressive drawings using pencil, pen and ink, and watercolor. • Expert tips for achieving a balance of accuracy, spontaneity and speed. • Practical advice for working in the field, choosing subjects, coping with onlookers, capturing people in motion and more. • Daily exercises and creative prompts for everything from improving essential skills to diverse approaches, such as montages, storytelling portraits and one-page graphic novels. Whether you are a habitual doodler or a seasoned artist, The Urban Sketcher will have you out in the world sketching from the very first page. By completing drawings on the spot, in one session, you achieve a fresh impression of not just what you see, but also what it feels like to be there . . . visual life stories as only you can experience them.

Urban sketcher Mike Daikubara gives beginners a crash course in location sketching that you can use in any city or town in Sketch Now, Think Later.

The Art of Urban Sketching is both a comprehensive guide and a showcase of location drawings by artists around the world who draw the cities where they live and travel. Authored by the founder of the nonprofit organization Urban Sketchers (www.urbansketchers.org), this beautiful, 320-page volume explains urban sketching within the context of a long historical tradition and how it is being practiced today. With profiles of leading practitioners and discussions of the benefits of working in this art form, this inspiring book shows how one can participate and experience this creative outlet through modern-day social networks and online activity. You'll find more than 600 beautiful, contemporary illustrations, as well as artists' profiles and extended captions where these urban sketchers share their stories, how they work, sketching tips, and the tools behind each drawing. With sketches and observations from more than 50 cities in more than 30 countries, TheArt of UrbanSketching offers a visually arresting, storytelling take on urban life from different cultures and artistic styles, as well as insight into various drawing techniques and mediums.

After working as a stylist in Paris, Elizabeth Hawes (1903–71) launched one of the first American design houses in Depression-era New York. Hawes was an outspoken critic of the fashion industry and a champion of ready-to-wear styles. Fashion Is Spinach, her witty and astute memoir, offers an insider's critique of the fashion scene during the 1920s and '30s. "I don't know when the word fashion came into being, but it was an evil day," Hawes declares. Style, she maintains, reflects an era's mood, altering only with changes in attitude and taste. Fashion, conversely, exists only to perpetuate sales. Hawes denounces the industry's predatory practices, advising readers to reject ever-changing fads in favor of comfortable, durable, flattering attire. Decades ahead of her time, she offers a fascinating and tartly observed behind-the-scenes look at the fashion industry's economics, culture, and ethics.

"Don't become worthless to me, Miss Murphy. You won't like the way I'll discard you." Aged nine, I saw the Devil. Those glowing amber eyes, they sliced through the darkness and filled my nightmares. Aged fifteen, he staked his claim on me. He held a fake funeral and told my father that I belonged to him now. Aged nineteen, he made good on his promise. Snatched me from the life I'd carved out for myself. Threw me in his private museum along with some of the rarest, most expensive artifacts in the world. I'm his new, shiny obsession. Nothing more than a keepsake. But Lorcan Quinn doesn't want to admire me from the other side of the glass, or even handle me delicately with white gloves. He wants to break me. Ruin me. Then he wants to acquire the rarest thing of all. My innocence. *** SOMME'S NOTES: The Devil's Keepsake is a deliciously dark, enemies to lovers mafia romance. It can be read as a standalone, but it's best devoured with the rest of the trilogy. You should know that I write dark romance, and my stories--including this one-- aren't for the faint of heart. They are deliciously dark and somewhat disturbing, so are not suitable for everyone. You won't find Prince Charming or a damsel in distress within these pages, so if that's what floats your boat, I kindly encourage you to move along!

A heroin addict, an asylum seeker, a homeless alcoholic. For over two years photographer and writer Len Grant joined the unseen and the excluded on their journeys of survival. In Billy and Rolonde, Grant starts out as a documentary photographer of the socially excluded but finds it impossible to remain an objective observer.